2000 Strong Youth for Christ, Book of Mormon Camp

Seventies Neil Simmons, Ron Smith and Rick Kohn were staff members at 2000 Strong Youth for Christ camp, held in Anna, TX, at the 400 acre YMCA Collin County Adventure Camp.  The 2013 camp theme was "Put on the armor or righteousness…shake off the chains by which ye are bound.” [2 Nephi 1:38, 39]

“2000 Strong Youth for Christ is a non-profit 501C3 organization dedicated to teaching the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to young people from all walks of life.  Everyone associated with 2000 Strong believes in the truth of the Book of Mormon and Holy Bible as witnesses of the divinity of Jesus Christ…” 

Camp Staff

The camp focuses on worship, scriptural study, fellowship, physical activities and just plain ordinary clean fun.

With a common platform of the Book of Mormon, the camp attracts youth from many of the restoration groups including: Community of Christ, Latter Day Saint, Restoration Branches, and, youth who may not yet be affiliated with any restoration movement or, are in spiritually divided households. 

Patriarch Fred Greene (Camp Pastor)

taught Book of Mormon classes to the Jr High group while Neil Simmons simultaneously taught six classes and shared many inspiring testimonies to the other age groups and staff. 

Neil’s classes were well attended by up to 43 participants per class.  Ron Smith, who traveled to camp with his granddaughter, provided musical ministry as he strummed his guitar at campfires and the talent show. 

Rick Kohn provided counseling to several youth and gave an interactive presentation on Saturday evening which included a time for testimony on the subject of the presentation entitled “Does God still speak to us today?”  He shared many of his personal examples with emphasis on the need to be “tuned to the right channel, in order to hear Him speak.”  Nearly 75 adults and youth heard the message given just before the talent show and photo slideshow of the week at camp.  Camp closed on Sunday morning following the inspirational dedication service presided over by Fred Greene.

Seventy Rick Kohn felt spirit led to participate in this camp, as part of his domestic missionary calling, following a 2008 meeting in Grapevine, TX with several of the organizations board members. 

He received confirmation to engage in this ministry while at the General Conference in April, 2013 during a conversation with Chris Taylor, the camp director.  The insight given is our need to nurture the youth and expand the availability of this camp experience to many more in the restoration.  Perhaps through regionalization at like facilities. 

In his closing remarks, Br Kohn told the group:  “The youth are the lifeblood of the church.  It is you who must take on this charge.  It is you who must shoulder the yoke.”   This statement followed the sharing of message * received by Br Kohn and his understanding of its broader applicability.  Br Kohn explained in part: “…we must build bridges between all of the fractions.  We must become unified.  We must set aside our doctrinal differences, stop quibbling and focus on Jesus Christ.  Then, we can move forward as the body of Christ.  Then, and only then, will we achieve Zion and the Kingdom.”

2013 Campers

* You (the Seventy) must cease being judgmental.  You must stand in their shoes.  Forgive and welcome with open arms, least you cannot be MY true servant(s.)  November 6, 2009; 4:45pm.

Seventy Micah Bates & Others to Kenya

Seventy Micah Bates, along with his brother Elder Jonah Bates and wife Morgan, left for Kenya on July 29th to minister for three weeks.  Please keep these young ministers in your prayers.

Some Lost Sheep Reclaimed

Seventy Richard Kohn continues his personal call to find the Lost Sheep. In May 2013, John Edwards returned to the fold and was ordained to the office of Elder by Seventies Bob Elrod and Richard Kohn.  The Lord was clearly present, bearing witness of the call and His pleasure in John's, and his family's, response. Brother Kohn was especially directed in a portion of the charge given prior to the ordination, and those present testified of the Lord's presence when it was shared.  This portion reads as follows,

"Elders are spiritual ministers, the pastors, the chief shepherd in all the ordinances and functions of the church.  Versus the Seventies who are traveling missionaries under the direct supervision of the Quorum of Twelve.  We are, in fact Elders set aside for this specific function. John, you have accepted this call to the office of Elder in the Church of Jesus Christ, Restoration Branches.  The Lord recognizes that you have struggled over these past years.  Your return to His service pleases Him.  He knows that you are now ready to assume the mantle He has called you to serve him under.  Wear it with dignity.  Wear it in humility and serve Him with reverence.  Help Him build the Kingdom."

For more information about John, please read Seventy Richard Kohn's article printed in the April 2013 Beacon.  Following are some pictures taken at the ordination service, where 21 people were present.

Open Letter from the Restoration Seventy

The First Quorum of Restoration Seventy, on April 22, 2013, issued an open letter declaring their service to Jesus Christ in valiant testimony of His restored gospel, and bringing forth of the Book of Mormon, through the prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. Click Here to see the letter. Visitors are encouraged to make the letter available to others with interest in this work.

The Seventy ask for continued support in your prayers; that greater unity might be achieved among the Restoration movement; that the work might continue and prosper; that many souls might be brought unto Jesus, the name above all names.

Great News from General Conference 2013!

God has moved once again in our midst. The Council of Presidents of Seventy has been filled with the ordination of Seventy Patrick McKay and Seventy Nathan Sherer as Presidents of Seventy.

In addition, God has called more laborers to the vineyard with the ordination of Elder Chris Pederson (US)and Elder Micah Bates (US) to the office of Seventy, who along with Seventy Ananda Rao (India) and Seventy Ed Geiersbach (US) have been added to the First Quorum of Restoration Seventy. The call to the office of Seventy of Elder Stephen Gardee (Liberia) was approved by the General Conference and he will be ordained and added to the Quorum at the earliest opportunity.

So we continue on the journey to which He has called us; Taking His message of hope to a world that hungers and thirsts for the salvation of Jesus Christ. Praise God for His love, His mercy and His grace!

McKay Brothers Visit St. John, KS Bickertonite Branch

Br's Jim and Patrick McKay recently traveled to St John, Kansas to visit with an Elder and Seventy in the Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite). This is a community which was first named Zion Valley by William Bickerton when he led a colony of saints from Pennsylvania to establish a stake of Zion on the boarders of the Lamanites in 1868. The community was later incorporated and became known as St John, Kansas.

These two elders graciously received us into their home putting us up for the night and feeding us. We spent hours discussing the latter day work and learning more about their side of the Restoration. We of course were able to bear our testimony of the movement of the Spirit which has both birthed as well as sustained the Reorganization. We found the Holy Spirit in our midst attempting to find common ground to heal the breach in the Restoration and begin reuniting and sewing us back together bringing to pass God's strange act as predicted in the 28th chapter of Isaiah.

We intend to remain in touch with these Brethren creating a common fellowship to help strengthen their small branch as well as building a bridge with this portion of the Restoration. We left several articles with them to read, pray and ponder over to give them a greater understanding of our portion of the Restoration.

Seventies Jim and Patrick McKay

New Missions Page on Seventy Website

The Missions link on the top navigation bar at http://restorationseventy.org now displays a new page with a current listing of Seventy proposed trips along with there status. Additionally, the page provides information to the Seventy on internal procedures for ease of information distribution. The hope is to make Seventy activites more readily available so that everyone can see the work that the Seventy are doing to take the fullness of the gospel into all the world.

The old Missions page is still available via a link called History found on the right side of the main page. The information derived from this page was more historical in nature, so the renaming of the page better fits the content.

Ron Smith's Kenya trip winds down.

First, let me apologize for my misspellings in my previous post.  Mishael Onyiego (aka Michael) lives in Nyabagege.  We had a wonderful time with he and his new bride, Scovia.  I found out what "missionary work" meant from Michael the day we walked around the area praying in many of the homes.  We had had classes in the morning, and several hours of visiting.  It was getting dark, and there were still a couple of stops to make.  As we started up a narrow cow path along yet another plowed field of maize toward the hut up the hill, Michael said to me, "Now you know what they mean by missionary work!"
 I also discovered what it means to be a "muzee".  I already was aware that it is a Kiswahili word meaning "old man."  We had talked about how Eric and I were both getting to the point in life where we were getting forgetful. I found that quite often I was being referred to as "muzee".  So I asked Duke, a priest who had spent a few days with us, how old one had to be to considered an official muzee?  He replied that they give you a test to see if you qualify.  I told him that I don't recall ever taking such a test.  He assured me that I had just officially qualified!
We have covered a lot of ground since then.  We were blessed to be in Migori, in the home of Hulda Simba. We held classes and confirmed several in Kehancha, on the Kenya/Tanzania border. We also held scripture classes and prayed in many homes in Kehezron, Oyugis, Ringa, and Kisumu. The Lord has been with us.  I am especially grateful that I have not been plagued this trip with the itchy welts that have accompanied every other trip that I have made to Africa!
I wish that I had time to write all the blessings that He has given, but we have not had ready access to the internet.  We are now nearing the end of our journey.  We will go to the airport tonight to welcome Brian Herren and Travis, who are coming in for the priesthood retreat this next weekend.  I will be going home on Wednesday morning.

Eric Odida and I spent two wonderful days in Naivasha with Elder Nelson Mutahi, his wife Elizabeth.  They were forced to leave their home in Sotik during the violence following the last elections in Kenya. Nelson testified about the wonderful hand of the Lord over his family during those terrible days when they had to take refuge in the police station in Sotik.  When the shooting started, they had to leave their home without food, blankets, or water, and only what they could carry in their hands for their children.  He testified how God provided water and milk each day.  One day, when one of the children asked for andazi (a fried pastry), Nelson went out to see if he could find some.  All the shops had been looted, and there were none to be had. On his return to the police station, he helped a lady carry a load of packages to her home.  When she arrived, she opened one of the packages, and gave him a whole bag of mandazi (the plural of andazi). A year later, when Nelson was able to return to his house, he found that nothing had been taken. To his knowledge, his was the only house not looted of everything valuable.  The family now resides in Naivasha, where they have been totally isolated from the church.  Friday, Nelson invited several acquaintances into his home for Eric and I to visit.  One young man who works in the prison there was very attentive.  He went home and told his wife about what was being said.  They brought their family to visit on Saturday, and we spent the majority of the day talking about the scriptures. We were scheduled to return to Narobi on Saturday night, but decided to stay over so that we could take Joel and Nelson to church in Nairobi on Sunday morning. I did the Sunday School class, and then preached, and then we had a baby blessing.  At about 2:00, we went back to the Odida's for a wonderful dinner, and then sent Joel and Nelson back to Naivasha. It sounds like the two families are planning to meet together on a regular basis. Please pray for them.  In the evening, I had the opportunity to go out with James Yogo and David Omollo, both of whom are Priests, to visit with the saints of the Jacaranga branch.  I gave a class on the kingdom of God in David's home, with seven of the members, asked a blessing on another home, and visited with James' wife, Ruth, at her vegetable stand.
Today we are going to head upcountry to Nyamabagege, where Elder Michael Onyego, the soapstone carver, lives. We are just waiting for the insurance company to deliver the insurance for Eric's car.  It expired two days ago, while we were in Naivasha.  Had we been stopped at any of the police check points on our way back to Nairobi, there would have been a big fine, and probably jail time, as Eric and I did not have enough money between us to pay. Thank you, Lord!
Please pray for the new little group in Naivasha, and all the saints.
Ron Smith

Ron Smith goes to Kenya

I am currently working in Kenya, East Africa. I arrived in Nairobi Wednesday night.  I am traveling with Eric Odida to Naivasha today to meet with a group of people who have not yet heard the Restored Gospel.  The plan is to meet with them for two days, and then return to Nairobi for Sunday services, after which we will go to Western Kenya to meet with a number of groups, both old and new.  We would appreciate your prayers.
Ron Smith

Seventy Missionary Family Reunion!

We are now halfway through the week at the Missionary Family Reunion sponsored by the Restoration Seventy at the Graceland University campus in Lamoni, Iowa.  The theme is "Be Ye One – Coming Together – United in Jesus Christ". 

Daily themes are "Becoming One Through….Forgiveness, Humility, Study, Prayer, and Teaching".  The adult classes have so far enjoyed the teaching of Seventies Patrick McKay, Ron Smith and Dan Norman. General thoughts of how we, as Restoration saints, can work together in bringing forward the gospel of Christ through our relationships with others has been shared through classes and testimonies throughout each day.

There are several afternoon classes that are offered this week as well. Children's Music for Adults, Christian Apologetics and Restoration Philosophy, A "Passover" in Our Day, For the Love of God, The Secret Place-Being Gathered In, and How to Be One. 

Activities for families are very popular as always, but especially since we have a very large and lively group of young children who are a joy to all of us!  The afternoon activities include swimming, animated scripture movies, scavenger hunt, races, a game of Capture the Flag, Frisbee golf, and Friday there will be a waterslide!  Tonight, we will have a time of fellowship after the evening preaching service and share so, me fresh watermelon!

For those who have had the opportunity to be at a reunion in the past… the favorite food of everyone here seems to be the same each year.  ICE CREAM!  You will see just about everyone at one time or another with a large cone full!

Evening preaching services are always a main event at each Seventy reunion, and this year is no exception.  Speakers for the week are Ron Johnson, George Thomas, John Mundy, James Noland, Patrick McKay, and Gary Metzger. 

If you have not been here to share but have the opportunity, come by for a day or evening to be a part of the fellowship and worship with us.  Check in and let the reunion office  know you've come to visit. We'd love to see you!

Urgent Prayer Request for Seventy Doug Patterson

A day of fasting and prayer has been called for Seventy Doug Patterson on May 9, 2012. He has been ill from some unknown infection or disease believed to have been picked up while ministering in Africa. Doug returned from Africa in December 2011, and about a month later started feeling ill, and he has progressively worsened.  So far the medical profession has been unable to determine what is wrong; and are, therefore, unable to treat him with focused treatments. He is now in intensive care and his children have been called in.  Doug will be administered to at 7:15 pm on May 9, 2012.  Below is a message sent out by Seventy Jim McKay to the other Seventy concerning Doug's condition.

Brethren:

I have been requested by sister Joy Muir to notify each of you with the urgent request for our brother Doug Patterson.  Joy was unable to contact any of the Seventy to get this message out.  She left me a message, and we made contact.  Patrick and I are being blessed richly.  We are presently in Ohio and will be giving a presentation on the book of Mormon this afternoon to the Youngstown Restoration Branch, please remember us in your prayers; but most importantly at this moment, please lift our brother Doug up.  He has been taken to the hospital and placed in intensive care.  His children are on their way.  We need divine intervention.

Jim and Patrick McKay